Chapter 1The Scandal at The Golden Globes

The night I won Best Actress, an anti-fan leaked a video of me pregnant, visibly showing a baby bump.

The entire auditorium erupted in whispers. Reporters swarmed me: "Miss Jensen, who is the father of the child?"

I turned to look at the usually composed and indifferent Julian Sterling, whose face was now twisted in shock.

For the first time ever, he lost his composure in public.

I smiled at the reporters and denied it: "I don't have a child."

The moment Julian abandoned me for his childhood sweetheart years ago, it was destined that there would be nothing left between us.

* * *

Before I stepped out of the limo onto the red carpet, my agent reminded me repeatedly: if I ran into Chloe Vance, I should pretend I didn't see her and avoid any conflict.

After all, Julian Sterling was her backer.

Half of the entertainment industry belonged to the Sterling family.

There used to be a saying in the circle—if you want to be famous, sleep with Julian Sterling.

Although crude, it was true that any woman linked to Julian had a smooth-sailing career in Hollywood.

Except me.

I was the only one who had a public relationship with him, yet I ended up nearly blacklisted.

Because I offended his precious childhood friend, Chloe.

For the next six years, no matter how hard I worked or how much the public recognized my acting, I never won an award.

Nomination after nomination without a win wore down all my sharp edges.

I started avoiding sharing the stage with Chloe. If she was eyeing a script, I would decline it citing schedule conflicts.

Maybe my silent surrender finally got a response, or maybe because she and Julian were about to get married, she didn't want my bad luck rubbing off on her.

So this time, they showed mercy and let an award slip through their fingers to me.

When my agent heard the news, she nearly cried.

She said, "Jane, the hard days are finally over."

Julian was finally willing to let me go.

Even though I was the one who initiated the breakup back then, I really couldn't win against Julian Sterling.

I had admitted defeat a long time ago.